Week #9 – Not A “Happy” Tail

In my last post I had promised to provide more information about dog racing, however in keeping my promise to provide accurate information on my page about Greyhounds, I need to amend a prior post before starting down a new path. And yes, I’ll admit that I’m in part procrastinating researching websites with pictures that will probably make me cry. I’ve had a rough week and let’s be real, we all have our limits.    

 Anyhow, I recently contacted the adoption organization where I found Miss Jane because I wanted to say hello and ask a quick question. Which reminds me, in case anyone reading is a worry wart like myself, if your greyhound starts to pant excessively be sure to account for a sudden change in the weather as the reason for such panting before contacting everyone Grey owner you know. Luckily Denise, the woman who started the adoption agency, was my first call. After assuring me that Janie was okay because the weekend weather jumped from in the 50’s to the 80’s, we chatted about what’s been going on and of course I re-counted the whole story about Janie’s tail. I told Denise that Janie has a bad case of “happy” tail syndrome and was surprised when she responded that she didn’t think was the correct diagnosis. Apparently “happy” tail syndrome mainly affects the tip of the tail. Because there is no way to stitch this area, you just have to wait for the wound to heal which can take months because the wound will  constantly break open every time the dogs hits it against anything. Janie’s tailed healed in about a month’s time and was able to be stapled back together.

I trust the information given to me by Denise because she has worked with Greyhounds for many years and has seen about every injury a Greyhound could have. I’m glad I was able to reach her on the phone instead of email. I feel old fashioned in the fact that I prefer contact with everyone in this way, in all aspects of my life. Despite growing up with a generation who mainly communicates electronically through one or several of the social networks out there, talking on the phone allows for that extra level of interpersonal communication to happen.  When I write a post, I constantly review and re-edit, and sometimes analyze each sentence (thanks to my job) to ensure that my true personality is reflected through my writing. Because at the end of the day my overall goal is to connect with you, my audience… and I think there are a few of you out there (Mom not included).

Week #7 – Friday?

Is it Friday yet? Usually, I love the sound of word, unfortunately the only thing that comes to mind just by hearing it is the new one hit wonder ‘Friday’ by Rebecca Black. I can honestly say that upon hearing the song, that went viral over night, I was instantly humming it in my head for the rest of the day, today, and probably tomorrow.  I’m always so entertained by what becomes quickly popular, despite the content. Lately, for instance, I have heard too many people around me make statements along of the lines of “I did this or that, which equals winning”, which can only bring one man to mind, Mr. Charlie Sheen.

However, while I am entertained, I now start to look at why and how these things become so popular. I feel that I am working pretty on becoming a more knowledgeable advocate for Greyhound adoption, and in doing so I would like to be able to raise more awareness about the cause on an individual level; not only for Janie, but for all Greyhounds.

I think the next step in this journey is to finally begin a topic for research. Since adopting Janie I have become very interested in learning more about Greyhound racing. I’m constantly reminded of the sport every time I go to rub her cute little ears that are both tattooed from her years as a racer. One ear is tattooed with her birth information and the other with her racing number. Almost like two little barcodes that owners use to tract the dog’s lineage. To me it just seems mean to do so to an animal. So at this point I can only make an emotional stance on the subject, which is just the thought of how these animals were treated only leads me to believe that dog racing is cruel and should be stopped. However, in my next few posts I think I will gather some more facts, ask around the Greyhound community, and find out what a day in the life of a racer was like. So stay tuned, and remember tomorrow is Thursday which means it will finally be Friday! (the humming begins again)

Week #6 – Couch Potato

Greyhounds, greyhounds, greyhounds! Hopefully everyone at this point can learn two things from my blog:

1. I am in love and completely adore my Greyhound Janie

2. I am continuing to learn the ups and downs that come from owning such a dog

Growing up, I was raised with small dogs like Shih Tzus and Chiuauas. Some obvious differences in those particular breeds compared to Greyhounds are that both are considerably smaller and for lack of a better term ‘yappier’.  I had mentioned in a previous blog that I did my research before choosing the Greyhound breed and initially many of the websites that I had looked at provided the basic positives and negatives. Which was all fine and dandy; however, I wanted information first hand from Greyhound owners.

Finally, after only a few minutes of searching I found what I was looking for. It was a forum for Greyhound lovers called GreyTalk. This forum allows individuals who register to participate by sharing pictures, events, information, and experiences about the breed. I learned so much very quickly. Particularly, I remember reading that Greyhounds are lovingly referred to as ‘couch potatoes’.  I couldn’t believe that these dogs, which were trained only to race, were any kind of lazy. Now, almost a year later, I can attest for that information to be very true.

Case and point. While Janie has been called an assortment of nicknames by myself and others, I most often refer to her as my ‘lazy Jane’. And that’s usually because 95% of the time you will find her curled up on her bed, or even on the couch just dozing away, most likely hoping that Skully is far away from disrupting her slumber. She even has a morning nap that takes place before I even leave for work!

Every morning I get up, take her out, feed her, and begin my morning routine. When I emerge from the bathroom ready to start my day, you could bet your bottom dollar that Janie is in her number one favorite bed – and that would be my bed. So allow me to depart with a one key piece of advice: if you have a full size bed or smaller, it’s time to upgrade, because these ‘couch potatoes’ love to hog the bed!